Refrigerated display cabinet



A. w. RUFF 1,845,682

`REFRGI-RA'IIEID DISPLAY CABINET Filed lay 8, 19251 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 16, 1932.

my @XZ mventr (Qon nxttrncus W "u Gb 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 8, 1951 .Nvvuilibw MNNVUVUMvnMM .v.\.-.\\=\\\\ :inventor @X0/WW 62W. ESM? (Ummm Patented Feb. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ALONZO W. BUFF, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO YORK ICE MACHINERY GORPOBATION, OF YORK, FENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE BEFRIGEBATED DISPLAY CABINET Application illed lay 8, 1931. Serial No. 536,027..

The present invention relates to refrigerated display cabinets for the storage and display of frozen food products, and particularly to the circulation of cold air therein. Un-

less air is so circulated in the cabinet that a relatively high humidity is maintained adjacent the surfaces of the articles on display, there occurs drying out or desiccation of some classes of goods, particularly meats and fish.

The goods being frozen before they are placed in display cabinets, they give olf no heat. The purpose of refrigeration by means of forced circulation ofcold air is to take care of heat leakage from the exterior of the cabinet. It is desirable, therefore, that forced circulation of air in heat exchanging relation with an expansion or brine coil be employed, the air moving past the coil at a relatively high velocity to lnsure rapid heat exchange but at a more reduced velocity in those positions of the cabinet in which it is necessary to maintain stored goods at relatively low temperatures.

The difficulty usually experienced with forced circulation is that turbulence adjacent the surfaces of the goods in the cabinet reduces the humidity of the air immediately y above the goods and causes the desiccation referred to.

In the present invention the cabinet comprises a casing, the upper portion of which is provided with display windows, and in which there are stolage trays, storage draw ers and the usual display`tray, preferably inclined and visible from the front of the cabinet. A refrigerator coil is disposed within the casing, as 1s also a fan for effecting forced circulation of air in the cabinet, the fan being arranged in proximate relation to the coil to provide for effective heat exchange between substantially all of the air and the coil.

The trays and drawers are each provided with side and end anges -so shaped and spaced. from each other andfrom the walls of the cabinet that channels are formed to direct the moving air throughout the cabinet without causing turbulence at or near the goods in the various receptacles.

- The invention will be more fully under- 50 stood from the following description thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section of the cabinet taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the cabinet taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the cabinet shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawings, the refrigerator cabinet comprises the usual insulated front and back walls 11, 12, side walls 13, 14 and base 15. The upper portion of the cabinet has an inclined front 16 consisting of one or more glassed panels 17 for display purposes. Glassed doors 18 at the rear upper portion of the cabinet provide for access to the trays within the cabinet. The top 19 of the cabinet contains suitable lamps 21 separated from the articles within the refri erator by two or more spaced glass pane s 22 whereby the interior of the cabinet is i1- luminated, but is insulated from the heat given olf b'y the lamps. A metal cover 20 extends longitudinally of the cabinet top and over the lamps.

In the rear wall of the refrigerator are doors 23 which may be opened to withdraw storage drawers 24; As will be seen in Fig. 1, these drawers are arranged in superposed relation and provided with rollers 25 adapted to ride on tracks 26. Rollers 27 are supported in brackets at the end of the track adjacent the doors 23 so that the drawers may be withdrawn with little effort even when full. The drawers are also separated from each other 35 in a horizontal plane, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit circulation of cold air throughout the cabinet. y

Each drawer 24 is providedwith a flange 28 and the rear -wall frame is faced with suitable packing 29 adjacent the drawer openlings with which the drawer flanges cooperate to minimize leakage when doors 23 are opened.

Disposed centrally of the cabinet is a oirculating fan 31 driven by an electric motor 32. Connections to a source of current for the motor and lamps may be made by means of sockets 33, andswitches 34 are provided for controlli/ng the motor and lamp circuits. 100

Supported on brackets 35 above drawers 24 is a tray or compartment 36 having a rear wall 37, spaced from the rear wall of the cabinet to form a passage 38, and an inclined front wall 39. The'upper end 41 of the front `wall terminates some distance below top 19, and as shown in Fig. 1, is vertical. The

lower portion of the wall is inclined downwardly and rearwardly, as shown at 42. Disposed forwardly of compartment 36 is a display tray 43 having a contour such that the tray is parallel to and spaced from the front wall of the rear compartment, thus forming a passage 44 between the two trays. It will be seen that the bottom 45 of tray 43 is supported on the sill of the display panel and is closed to the interior of the cabinet. The bottoms, sides and ends of all of the drawers and trays are imperforate, only the top being open for access thereto. Y

The top edge of tray 43 is spaced -from the top of the cabinet, being at about the same height as the top of wall 41.' In order to prevent morethan alimited amount of cold air from circulating above the goods in the display tray, a curtain 46 of some suitable flexible material is hung from the top of the cabinet. The curtain acts as a baille against the entrance of air to the tray, but may flap back and forth with respect to the top edge of the tray a distance sufficient to permit a limited quantity of air to enter and leave the space above the goods in Athe tray. Turbulence in the display compartment 1s thus substantially eliminated. Adjacent and parallelto the front wall of the cabinet is a refrigerating coil 47 through which brine or other suitable refrigerating medium is circulated. Interposed between the refrigerating coil and drawers 24 is a plate 48 extending longitudinally the full length of the cabinet and from the cabinet base nearly to the bottom of tray 36. The refrigerating coil substantially fills the compartment thus formed by the Jfront wall of the cabinet and plate 48, insuring a high velocity of air therethrough, and rapid heat transfer between the coil and air.

A long slot-like passage 49 is provided between the upper edge of plate 48 and the forward bottom corner of tray 36 through which relatively warm air is drawn to be cooled by coil 47. Plate 48 is provided with an aperture intermediate its ends, which aperture corresponds in area and shape with the Jfan casing 51. The fan casing is open at each end, forming a conduit through which the fan draws cold air and forces. it rearwardly into the lower centralportion of the refrigerator from which it flows laterally and upwardly around all of the drawers and between the trays before being returned to the brine coil compartment.' Warm air` which has leaked into the cabinet is thus effectively removed from the spaces between the drawers and trays.

In Fig. 1 the direction of the air currents is indicated by arrows. It is to be particularly noted that air in the storage compartment 36 and in display tray 43 is eiectively pocketed and that there is little or no turbulence of air in the trays. The same is true of the air within the storage drawers, the corners and seams of which are air-tight. The sides and bottoms of the trays and drawers are, however, continuouslycooled by the circulated air. The relativel long slot-like passages 38, 44 and 49 provid for equal distribution of cold air and withdrawal of warm air so that substantially uniform circulation of air throughout the cabinet is insured.

It will be apparent that the construction and arrangement of the circulating and refrigerating apparatus described will effectively maintain low temperatures in a'nd around the storage drawers and trays. While the fan is capable of circulating a relatively large volume of air, it is' so distributed through the slot-like channels formed by the walls of the drawers and trays that large outlets are provided. In this manner the turbulence usually present systems is practically eliminated. Tests have demonstrated,'for instance, that the tem-v perature in the space immediately under the top of the cabinet may be 25 higher than that around the drawers, andthat this temperature difference is substantially constant.

While the particular relation and shape of the drawers and trays as shown are preerred, the invention is susceptible of application to modified forms of the several receptacles employed in the cabinet. It is, therefore, to be understood that the drawings are merely illustrative of one form of the invention.

What is claimed is 1. In a refrigerated display cabinet, a longitudinal vertical partition therein, said partition being spaced from the front wall of the cabinet and terminating below the top thereof a heat` exchange element substantially filling the space between said front wall and said partition; and a fan for circulating air downwardly through said space and into the rear portion of the cabinet.

2. In a refrigerated display cabinet, a longitudinal vertical artition therein, said artition being space from the front wall o the cabinet and terminating below the to thereof; a display tray disposed adjacent t e front of said cabinet; a storage tray disposed rearwardly of said display tray and above said partition, said storage tray being spaced from the rear wall of said cabinet and from said display tray; a heat exchange element substantiallydillin the space between said 'front wall and sai partition; and a fan for circulating air downwardly through said in forced circulating inclined upwardly and rearwardly and terspace and into the rear portion of the cabinet.

3. In a refrigerated display cabinet, av

longitudinal vertical partition therein,said partition being spaced from the front wall ofthe cabinet and terminating below the top thereof; a plurality of storage. receptacles in the rear of said partition, said receptacles being spaced rfrom each vother and having imperorate bottoms and sides;`a heat exchange element substantially filling the space between saidfront wall and said partition; and a fan for circulating air downwardly through said space and upwardly around said receptacles.

4. In a refrigerated display cabinet, a lon" v gitudinal vertical partition therein, said artition being spaced from the front wal of the cabinet and terminating below the top thereof; a plurality of storage receptacles disposed between said partition and the rear wall of said cabinet, said receptacles being spaced from each other; a display tray disposed in the upper forward portion of said cabinet; a storage tray disposed in the upper portion of said cabinet, said storage tray being spaced from said partition, said display tray, said receptacles and the'rear wall of the cabinet; a heat exchange element substantially filling the space between said partition and the front wall of the cabinet; and a fan tor circulating air downwardly around said element and through the spaces between said receptacles and said trays.

5. lin-a refrigerated display cabinet, a longitudinal vertical partition therein, said partition being` spaced from the front wallof the cabinet and terminating below the top thereof; a display tray disposed adjacent the front wall of said cabinet, said tray being minating below the top fof the cabinet; a iiexible baille depending from the top of the cabinet, said baille having a free lower edge extending to and parallel with the top edge of 4the display tray; a heat exchange element substantially illingthe space between said front wall and said partition; and -a fan for circulating air downwardly through said space and into the rear portion of the cabinet.

ln testimony4 whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ALNZO W. RUFF. 

